Project management consultancy ::projective has gotten off to a flying start for the year in the Netherlands. Building on a sustained period of growth in the country, the firm has opened a new office in Amsterdam. Mirroring the firm’s success internationally, the Dutch arm is embarking on what it calls the “next growth chapter” of its operations in the Netherlands.

It was back in 2009 that ::projective first set foot in the Netherlands, expanding from Belgium, where the firm was founded in 2006. The firm entered the market with a small team of programme and project managers, led by Partner Piet Impens. Two years later, Impens was joined by the Dutchman Corjan Mol, who was appointed a Partner. Over the past nine years, the consultancy has managed to expand its track record in the project management landscape to now serve “practically all large financial services players in the Dutch market,” said the two Managing Partners.

“::projective has more and more become the party to go to for complex delivery of programmes and projects in banking, asset management, insurance and financial market infrastructure,” they said to Consultancy.uk.

The consulting firm differentiates itself from its competitors through its focus on the financial services industry, with delivery realised by an experienced team of project managers, consultants, and technology experts – on average, a ::projective team member boasts a track record of 10+ years gained in the financial services industry. “These are two key pillars of our ongoing European success story,” said Stefan Dierckx, CEO of Projective. Besides its based in Belgium and the Netherlands, the consulting firm also has offices in the financial centres of London, Frankfurt, and since October last year, in Paris.

Knowledge hubs

In a bid to become the trusted advisor to executives and managers in the financial services domain, ::projective has recently launched a new governance that extends its knowledge base to the benefit of its clients. “Combined as a group we have deep knowledge of almost every thinkable process in our area of expertise. We wanted to mobilise that knowledge towards our clients to bring them more value,” explained Impens.

The launch of a number of specialised communities across its five locations – known internally as Delivery Excellence Community – is at the heart of the knowledge management drive. “Instead of selling someone to deliver a project we now work from our Delivery Excellence Community to translate hundreds of years of combined delivery experience into propositions about among others Digital, Regulatory, Operational Excellence, Project Rescue or Agile Transformation,” said Mol.

The firm leverages the propositions to offer a deeper and more integral service for a single engagement, or uses the propositions as a basis for a broader service in which ::projective insources complete project portfolios from its clients. “Together with our clients, we execute projects for them,” remarked Mol.

The Dutch outfit of the firm –::projective Netherlands – looks back at a bumper year. While the firm had 22 professionals in the country in January 2017, today the tally stands at 35 – an increase in headcount of about one-third. "We are well on track to realising our ambition of becoming the go-to player for project and programme management in the financial services sector,” commented Mol.

The firm’s growth is unfolding against a backdrop of rapid change in the financial services environment, both in the Netherlands and across Europe. The introduction of new technologies has changed the landscape forever, on top of that regulation, the need for rationalisation of process and systems and changing customer behaviour are mounting pressure on institutions to adapt their business and operating models. To keep its own model ahead of the curve (“we need to innovate and develop our organization and services as well”), ::projective’s Executive Committee (in which both Impens and Mol have a seat) has worked on several improvements to its model, while keeping its well-known “ultra-flat company structure” in place.

::projective has also invested strongly in its capabilities to serve as a trusted advisor in the FinTech eco-system. The firm has built direct links with FinTechs hubs such as B-Hive, The Bridge and The Glue, with private equity players such as Smartfin Capital and startup platforms including Scale-Ups Europe. “We have truly transformed from a traditional project management firm into a networked multifaceted market player. We now have the power to mobilise almost unlimited skill and knowledge in financial services combined with the ability to connect clients to new technologies and opportunities,” said Impens.

The firm’s progress, combined with its ambition for the coming years, have encouraged the firm to step up its investments in the Dutch market, exemplified by the recent move into its new office in Amsterdam. “Our new office, close to many of our clients embodies our ambition. “We want to become synonymous with delivering innovation in the financial services market,” concluded Mol.